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The cutting edge Seven Viking vessel, designed for operations in the harshest environments is being unveiled and named at a ceremony in Stavanger, Norway, by Subsea 7, Eidesvik Offshore and Ulstein today, 30 January 2013.

The next generation Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) vessel, the Seven Viking, is co-owned by Subsea 7 and Eidesvik and has been constructed in partnership with Ulstein.

The ICE-C class vessel with a crew capacity of 90 and a top speed of 17 knots, will work for Statoil on a five year contract. It has been custom-built according to the operator’s specifications to carry out tasks including inspection, maintenance and repair of subsea installations in addition to scale treatment and RFO work scopes (Ready For Operations).

The vessel Godmother is to be Christine Sagen Helgø, the Mayor of Stavanger.

Subsea 7 Vice President for Norway Stuart Fitzgerald said: “The collective effort, and strong cooperation, between Ulstein, Eidesvik and Subsea 7, has resulted in the Seven Viking. The Seven Viking represents another class leading asset in the Subsea 7 fleet and captures Subsea 7’s unparalleled experience with IMR operations in harsh environments. The design and build of this state of the art vessel would not have been possible without the expertise and dedication of many people within both Subsea 7 and our project partners, and we take pride in their achievement. We look forward to many years of safe and efficient operations with Seven Viking for our Customer, Statoil.”

Jan Fredrik Meling, CEO Eidesvik Offshore said, “We in Eidesvik are very satisfied with the close and constructive cooperation with Subsea 7. The relationship between our companies has developed over many years and has enabled us, together with Ulstein, to launch this outstanding vessel.”

Gunvor Ulstein, Ulstein Group CEO said, “Ulstein is proud to deliver a vessel of unmatched technical and operational capacity in its sector, and I am confident that the Seven Viking will meet Statoil’s expectations.”

The Seven Viking incorporates the X-BOW® hull line design to reduce motion in transit and gives increased stability in the potentially high waves that characterise the North Sea. Despite this enviable stability usually associated with size, this version of the Ulstein SX148 design has been crafted to be compact in stature – measuring only 106.5 metres long and 24.5 metres wide. The dimensions will allow the Seven Viking to manoeuvre with ease in confined spaces, such as between platforms, accessing difficult to reach areas.

Thanks to a clever configuration whereby hull space is maximised and equipment is integrated within a large hangar area, the Seven Viking and its crew have the ability to carry all necessary maintenance equipment on board, ensuring that operational downtime is kept to a minimum.

Safety, efficiency and environmental considerations have been the prime focus for the three partners when developing the Seven Viking, which carries the Clean Design notation.

A customised module handling system (MHS) has been integrated in the ship’s hangar for the safe launch and retrieval of subsea modules weighing up to 70 tons through the moon pool.

To facilitate cooperation and communication, all operational personnel are gathered in one area adjacent to the hangar, with panoramic windows in the control room giving a full overview of this key activity area. The Seven Viking has been developed to meet the highest working environment standards, and is classified as a comfort class COMF-V (3) vessel. Minimal noise levels in the hangar have been achieved by opting for electric winches for the ROVs, the MHS and other utility equipment.

Notable environmental initiatives include diesel electric propulsion, which reduces atmospheric emissions, and the electrical winches which nullify the risk of emissions of hydraulic oil.

Jun 21, 2012 – Rialto Energy reported that it has encountered high gas readings and recovered oil and gas samples from the sidetrack of its Gazelle-P3 well. Wireline logs have been taken while further logging with vertical seismic profile and sidewall coring are continuing with completion expected in the next three days. Rialto said the oil and gas samples were recovered from the Upper Cenomanian sands as expected while the gas readings were noted in the Lower Cenomanian. The samples will also be used to assist in the design of the Gazelle field development processing facilities.

Jun 20, 2012 – Kosmos Energy has entered into an agreement with Chevron under which Kosmos will assign half of its interest in Blocks 42 and 45, offshore Suriname, to Chevron. Under the agreement, Kosmos will have a 50 percent working interest and remain operator of both blocks until the end of the exploration phase. Chevron will assume the remaining 50 percent working interest and will become development operator of any commercial discoveries. Blocks 42 and 45 cover an area of about 2.8 million gross acres in water depths ranging between 650 to 8,500 feet (200 and 2,600 meters). First drilling is targeted for 2014.

Jun 18, 2012 – Salamander Energy has spud the Bualuang Far East-1 exploration well in Block B8/38, Gulf of Thailand. The Bualuang Far East prospect is located approximately four miles (six kilometers) to the northeast of the Bualuang oil field. The Far East-1 well will be drilled to a total vertical depth of 4,765 feet (1,452 meters) subsea. The primary target is the T5 Miocene sandstones with secondary targets comprising an underlying Permian-age Ratburi carbonate and a T4 Miocene sandstone stratigraphic trap. The main T5 objective has potential mean recoverable resources of 20 million barrels of oil. The well will be drilled by the ENSCO 53 (300??? ILC) jackup and is expected to take about 20 days to complete.

Jun 19, 2012 – Chevron has agreed to sell 10-percent participating interest of its Wheatstone field licenses and 8-percent participating interest of its Wheatstone natural gas processing facilities to Japan’s Pan Pacific Energy. Chevron added that Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), one of the stakeholders in Japan’s Pan Pacific Energy K.K, has agreed to purchase an additional 0.4 million tons per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas from the Wheatstone Project for up to 20 years. This new agreement brings Tepco’s total LNG offtake to 4.2 MTPA.

Jun 18, 2012 – Noble Energy has suspended gas flow from the Pinnacles No. 1 well offshore Israel. According to partner Delek Group, this is due to an indication of a gas composition that does not match the specification for flow. The operator plans to examine alternative options including gas treatment to allow the resumption of gas flow.

Jun 15, 2012 – The Ligurian No. 2 well has failed to encounter commercial hydrocarbons and will now be plugged and abandoned after reaching a final depth of more than 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). The ENSCO 8503 (UDW semisub) drilled the well to a total depth of 31,800 feet (9,693 meters).

Jun 15, 2012 – The BOEM recently approved Anadarko’s permit to drill at its Shenandoah prospect in Walker Ridge Block 51. The permit lists the ENSCO 8505 (UDW semisub) as the rig that will perform drilling operations. The Shenandoah well has a proposed depth of 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) and is located in approximately 5,800 feet (1,768 meters) of water.

Jun 21, 2012 – Ocean Installer has completed a survey and intervention work at the Balder field. The conducted work encompassed inspection and maintenance of the subsea control system at the field. Balder is located on Blocks 25/10 and 25/11 in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about 118 miles (190 kilometers) west of Stavanger, Norway at a water depth of 410 feet (125 meters).

Jun 21, 2012 – Providence Resources has completed the core analysis of the reservoir at its Barryroe discovery. The firm said that permeabilities in the basal oil-bearing reservoir interval have exceeded expectations, while good permeabilities have also been confirmed in secondary logged hydrocarbon-bearing sand. The permeabilities in the basal oil-bearing interval confirm the high-productivity nature of this reservoir as observed during well-testing operations, said Providence. The company will provide a revised resource update for Barryroe later this summer.

Jun 20, 2012 – Technip won a contract for the development of the Boyla field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The $381 million deal with Marathon covers all activities necessary to complete the construction of the subsea system for the field development and connect it to the existing Alvheim subsea facilities. Offshore construction will take place in 2014. The field is to be developed as a subsea tie-back to the Alvheim FPSO, with two production wells and a water injection well. The Boyla field is estimated to hold reserves of 23 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Jun 19, 2012 – Statoil reported that the Valemon jacket was successfully delivered and installed on the field, which lies in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The 9,000-ton steel jacket was carried out as planned and the project remains on schedule. The jacket, which was built by Heerema Fabrication Group in Vlissingen in the Netherlands, was transported from the shipyard and out to the field by the crane barge Thialf. Development of Valemon involves a fixed platform with a steel jacket for the separation of gas, condensate and water. The rich gas will be transported via a new pipeline to the existing pipeline from Huldra to Heimdal for further processing. The condensate will be piped to the Kvitebj??rn platform for stabilization and further transport via the Troll oil pipeline to the Mongstad refinery. At peak production, Valemon is expected to deliver roughly 86,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The field is expected to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2014 and has a life expectancy of 11 years.

Jun 15, 2012 – Nexen reported that the Buzzard oil field will have an extended four-week shutdown in the third quarter for the field’s five-year regulatory inspection. The company did not specify when the shut-down will likely occur. Buzzard produces about 200,000 bopd and is the largest oil field that contributes to Forties crude.

Jun 15, 2012 – Statoil has submitted a plan for development and operation for the Svalin field to the Norwegian government and reported it expects to bring the field online in 2013. Recoverable reserves at the field are estimated at around 75 million barrels of oil equivalent, with two structures Svalin C and Svalin M containing similar quantities. The Svalin C and Svalin M discoveries will be developed through a ‘fast-track’ method that uses a standard solution involving processing by existing infrastructure. The Svalin development will be tied-back to the Grane platform. Svalin M will be produced by a well drilled from the Grane platform, while Svalin C will be a subsea development connected via a four-mile long flowline to the Grane platform. The hydrocarbons will utilize shared processing and export facilities. The gas compression facility at the Grane platform will be modified to handle gas from Svalin. Oil from the Svalin development will be transported, along with production from the Grane field, through the existing pipelines for storage and shipment from the oil terminal at Sture.

Jun 15, 2012 – Shell sent SBM Offshore a letter of interim award (LOIA) for the supply, lease and operation of a FPSO for the Fram field in the UK sector of the North Sea. The LOIA allows SBM Offshore to commence engineering and procurement of long lead items to ensure timely completion of the planned Fram FPSO project, which is subject to a Final Investment Decision. In March 2012, Shell and SBM Offshore signed an Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA) covering a term of five years, with an option to extend for another five years. The Fram FPSO, subject to a Final Investment Decision, will be the first project to be developed under the terms of the EFA. The hull of the FPSO will be based on a converted Aframax tanker and will incorporate an internal turret permanent mooring system. The crude will be offloaded to shuttle tankers and the gas exported via the existing Fulmar pipeline.

Jun 21, 2012 – Statoil has confirmed that it has found between 100 and 200 million barrels of recoverable oil at its Mizzen deepwater prospect offshore Newfoundland. The company stated it is now assessing the discovery to determine how and when it can be economically developed. Statoil discovered oil in 2009 while drilling Mizzen O-16 and appraised the find in late 2011. Statoil plans to drill two new wildcat wells in the area by the end of next year, and potentially additional wells in 2014 and beyond. Mizzen is situated roughly 311 miles (500 kilometers) east of St. John’s in 3,609 feet (1,100 meters) of water.

There are great things happening aboard the vessel “Havila Phoenix” nowadays. During the last two years there have been installations and tests of a whole new system likely to revolutionise the offshore light well intervention market.

The vessel, a Havyard 858 design, is designed and constructed by the ship technology group, Havyard Group AS, and owned by Havila Shipping, both located in Fosnavåg at the west coast of Norway. The offshore construction vessel was delivered from Havyard Ship Technology in Leirvik, Norway in 2009.

The vessel has over the last year-and-a-half been working on a contract for Fugro-Salt Subsea, part of the massive Fugro group, which is a Dutch-based corporation with more than 14.000 employees spread across 60 countries. Fugro-Salt Subsea cooperates with Expro in terms of developing the new “AX-S”-system aboard Havila`s advanced construction vessel.

So far the development of this new system has been running for seven years and cost NOK 1.2 billion in research and investments in ground-breaking new technology. The breakthrough appeared around a month ago when tests in the Norwegian Onarheim fjord proved very successful.

“AX-S” is a brand new system for well intervention involving remote-controlled subsea tools. The new system is, according to both the Havila management and the management of Fugro-Salt Subsea, a revolutionary system using solutions so far never utilised in subsea operations from a construction vessel. This involves employing extremely advanced remote-controlled subsea tools during well intervention that can handle up to eight different tools within the same operation, as well as using a light fibre rope instead of heavy steel wires. These are the main elements of the recent innovation. Should the system also win approval in a business sense, it could have a major impact on the offshore light well intervention market.

STABLE HAVYARD VESSEL

In the last year-and-a-half the 110 metre long vessel, a ship now docked in the port of Montrose between Dundee and Aberdeen, Scotland, has looked more like a research station than an offshore vessel. Havila Phoenix has been outfitted with a 35 metre tall tower and several modules on deck with a combined weight of over 500 tonnes. And there is no coincidence that the Scottish group has chosen a Havyard 858 design for this unique project.

- We needed a big, solid and modern vessel, and Havila Phoenix has lived up to all our expectations. If we fully succeed with this project we will likely be looking to acquire vessels of a similar design, but we will then need to be part of the planning straight from the start and get more of the system directly integrated below deck, says Operation Manager Darren Bown of AX-S.

- Yes, things have been working really well and the vessel also performs really well for its purpose. Facilities are also excellent, says Lyngewho`s been captain aboard the vessel since the initial delivery. Captain and crew are definitely looking forward to heading out to the North Sea in order to start using this exciting new system.

UNIQUE REMOTE-CONTROLLED TOOLS

Michael Earlam of Fugro-Salt Subsea informs that there are several factors making the AX-S system a world sensation. In addition to the utilization of fibre ropes instead of wires for AX-S deployment, Earlam emphasizes the remote-controlled handling and deployment of the subsea packages with the ability to deploy 8 subsea tools is each time is unique.

- By using traditional well intervention equipment you can only perform one task at a time before the equipment needs to be raised to the surface in order to swap tools and then perform a subsequent operation. The equipment used in the AX-S system manages to handle eight various tools while on the seabed, without having to be raised to the surface to swap over any tools. This makes the operation much more effective and cost-efficient, Michael Earlam informs.

And after seven years of preparation the system is nearing its baptism of fire. In September, Havila Phoenix with 500 tonnes of “subsea factory” on deck will be heading out to work in the British sector of the North Sea.

- Yes, following the successful commissioning of the AX-S system on NUTEC’s “cold well” in Onharheimsfjord, south of Bergen, during April and May be performing operations in the North Sea, the Operations Manager for AX-S, Darren Bown of Expro, confirms.

The Philippine Department of Energy orders Forum Energy to suspend exploration work at Service Contract 72 as the acreage falls within the area of a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China.

Otto Energy farms out a 15 percent stake in Service Contract 55 off the Philippines to Red Emperor Resources and signs a letter of intent for Maersk Venturer to drill the Hawkeye-1 exploration well in the block.

BW Offshore has confirmed that bodies of the remaining three crew members who went missing in the FPSO explosion in Brazil in February, have been recovered. With this, the total number of fatalities from this incident stands at nine. Two crew members remain in hospital, receiving medical attention and their condition is reported to be […]

‘Blue Queen’, the recently delivered, Ulstein-designed, platform supply vessel has landed its first gig in the North Sea. The platform supply vessel, named at Ulstein Verft on Friday, February 27, will be working in the spot market. On Monday, it embarked on its first assignment with Lundin Petroleum. “We are very satisfied that the ‘Blue Queen’, […] […]

Forum Energy, a UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company, has declared a force majeure on Service Contract SC72, offshore the Philippines. The company has said that Philippine Department of Energy (“DOE”) has granted a force majeure on activities in the area because it is situated within the territorial disputed area of the West Philippine Sea […]

Statoil has awarded the Johan Sverdrup SURF Detail Engineering and Services 2015-20 contract to IKM Ocean Design. Johan Sverdrup field is a large oil discovery in production licenses PL265, PL501 and PL502 in the Utsira High region of Norwegian Continental Shelf, 140 km west of Stavanger. The field development is a phased development. Phase one […]

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper has announced the bureau will offer more than 21 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Proposed Western Gulf of Mexico Lease […]

Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) has launched two pre-qualification contracts for the construction of the 105 km offshore pipeline section under the Adriatic Sea. The greatest depth the pipeline will be laid is 820 meters. According to TAP, the first pre-qualification comprises Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) works for the offs […]

DOF Subsea UK’s survey and positioning business in the UK and US has been awarded an extension of a Master Service Agreement with Heerema Marine Contractors of Leiden, The Netherlands. The contract covers global provision of survey and positioning services on board Heerema Marine Contractor’s vessels, including the Hermod, Balder, Thialf, Aegir and support […]

After the acquisition by LetterOne, the Hamburg based upstream company RWE Dea has a new owner, a new supervisory board and gets a new name. LetterOne is a privately owned Luxembourg-based global investment vehicle focused on utilizing its financial resources, management and investment expertise. At the first general meeting of shareholders a new supervisory […]

Technip has been awarded a contract from Tupi BV, a consortium composed of Petrobras Netherland BV (PNBV, 65%), BG (25%) and Galp (10%), for the ongoing development of the Lula Alto field, located in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, Brazil. This contract covers the supply of around 200 kilometers of flexible pipes and associated equipment, […]

McDermott Middle East, Inc. has been awarded initial work for a significant power supply system replacement contract by Saudi Aramco for the Marjan field, offshore Saudi Arabia. Work is expected to be executed through the fourth quarter of 2016 and will be included in McDermott’s first quarter 2015 backlog. The overall brownfield project comprises integrated […]

Bibby Offshore, a provider of subsea installation, inspection, repair and maintenance services to the offshore oil and gas industry, has made several Board changes as part of a reorganisation of the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) has launched two pre-qualification contracts for the construction of the 105 km offshore pipeline section under the Adriatic Sea. The greatest depth the pipeline will... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Statoil has awarded the Johan Sverdrup SURF Detail Engineering and Services 2015-20 contract to IKM Ocean Design. Johan Sverdrup field is an oil discovery in production licenses PL265, PL501 and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

McDermott International has been awarded a contract for a new jacket, temporary deck and replacement umbilical by Qatar Petroleum for the North Field Alpha gas development, offshore Qatar. According... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Technip has won a contract from Tupi BV, a consortium composed of Petrobras Netherland BV (PNBV, 65%), BG (25%) and Galp (10%), for the ongoing development of the Lula Alto field, located in the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

DOF Subsea UK Limited, a provider of integrated subsea services, announced that its survey and positioning business in the UK and US has been awarded an extension of a Master Service Agreement with... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

McDermott has been awarded initial work for a significant power supply system replacement contract by Saudi Aramco for the Marjan field, offshore Saudi Arabia. Work is expected to be executed through... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

James Fisher has acquired the entire share capital of Subtech. The initial consideration is ZAR61.0m (£3.4m) in cash plus potential future consideration up to a maximum of ZAR175.0m (£9.9m) based on... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Ireland’s Providence reported that the initial evaluation of the fast-track 3D volume has revealed seismic morphologies in the Drombeg prospect which are consistent with those of a large... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Chevron Australia’s Gorgon Gas Development Fourth Train Expansion Proposal, which is expected to expand the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity on Barrow Island from 15 to 20 million... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Statoil’s active leases in the Gulf of Mexico

Peter Thiel worked with some impressive talent back in the early days of PayPal, but one person stood out from the rest of them. On the second day of the Launch Conference in San Francisco, Thiel was asked by moderator Jason Calacanis about which member of the Paypal cohort impressed him the most. He hedged at first, explaining that he found all of them extr […]

It's been nearly a year since MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur for a red-eye flight to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The whole world knows what happened next, but so far, no one knows why the plane still hasn't been found. We read aviation expert Jeff Wise's book, “The Plane That Wasn’t There: Why We Haven’t Found Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, […]

Kerobokan (Indonesia) (AFP) - Two Australian drug smugglers in Indonesia were taken from their Bali prison Wednesday to an island where they will executed, as the Australian leader said his country was "revolted" by their looming deaths after frantic diplomatic efforts to save them.Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were taken in two armoured cars, s […]

Forget Mars. Scientists recently found a type of life on Earth so unknown to us it might as well be alien. The lifeforms are so tiny that researchers have been debating whether or not they could even exist for decades. They finally caught the tiny bacterium, which only has a volume of 0.009 cubic microns (for perspective, a micron is one millionth the length […]

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice did not use a private email account to conduct official business when she led the State Department. Business Insider spoke to a source close to Rice following a New York Times report that noted Clinton used a personalized email rather than a government address when she was secretary of state. The source claimed Rice, […]

Uber is buying a mapping startup called deCarta for an undisclosed amount, Mashable reports. Right now, Uber uses Google Maps data to power its apps for drivers and riders. This new acquisition hints that that relationship might not last. The acquisition might also play into the Advanced Technologies Center that Uber's building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylva […]

Warning: If you're not caught up with season 3, episode 3 of "House of Cards," there are spoilers ahead. A big subplot in season three of Netflix’s "House of Cards" is Frank Underwood’s (Kevin Spacey) relationship with Russian president Victor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen). The first time the two cross paths is in episode 3 when Petrov vis […]

FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors. Robo-advisor Wealthfront hits $2 billion in assets (Wealthfront) Robo-advisor Wealthfront has reached $2 billion in assets in just over three years. The advisor now ranks in the top 100 in total assets managed for RIAs, and believes it […]

Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky is continuing her post-scandal career with a TED talk later this month. Lewinsky, who gained international infamy due to her affair with former President Bill Clinton, is scheduled to speak at TED 2015 Truth and Dare in Vancouver, Canada on March 19. After a lengthy absence from the public eye, Lewinsky began remaki […]

Even though more people are expected to start using wearable devices in the next five years, Cisco's Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast says the global landscape in 2019 will look very similar to how it looks today — just much larger. There were 108 million wearables in the world last year, and that number is expected to grow to 578 million by 2019. Ba […]

Submitted by Lance Roberts via STA Wealth Management, Yesterday, I discussed a few of the issues surrounding the current extension of the cyclical bull market and the excuses that will be delivered when it eventually ends. The current deviation in price from underlying economic fundamentals should be a warning sign for investors. However, when prices are tre […]

By Brad at www.CapitalistExploits.at To succeed in investing you essentially have to beat the majority of other investors. This will not be achieved by thinking like everyone else. You will have to think and act differently to everyone else. How do most people think when it comes to trading, or at least what do they spend most of their time on? The majority […]

Earlier today, we laid out all of the myriad reasons why Draghi-style QE won’t (indeed can’t) work. Some of these reasons are logistical (euro fixed income supply/demand imbalance) and some are structural (former easing efforts impeding current accommodation). We’ve also taken a hard look at the deleterious effects CB asset purchases have had on market liqui […]

Submitted by James E Miller via Mises Canada blog, Does a warning mean anything if nobody listens? With the precarious case of Lake Mead, doomsayers never seem to break the surface. For years, reports of the lake’s declining levels have popped up in the news. Yet residents of the surrounding area still refuse to listen. The latest report from the Interior De […]

The last three times that API inventories reported (each notably greater than expected), crude prices tumbled (only to ramp hilariously the next day following DOE inventory data). Against Bloomberg estimates of a 3.95 million barrel build, API printed only a 2.89 million barrel build; and WTI crude prices surged to the day's highs. Crude jumped to the […]

For those who bought the breakout to 5,000 in the Nasdaq... We are sad to report that The Nasdaq Composite was unable to trade back above 5,000 today... An early dip into the red for the week was rescued, then another dip after Europe closed took all but The Dow into the red for the week... but then as the USD strengthened and bonds sold off, stocks ral […]

As the world awaits to see if following his speech, Israel's PM will now proceed with launching a full on assault on Iran just to show he means business, or at least stage yet another false flag intervention to greenlight war in the middle east, several hundred kilometers to the northeast, the biggest offensive in the "war on ISIS" is now taki […]

A running theme here has been the great rotation of bubble-blowing credit from subprime housing to subprime auto-loans. Amid government probes of underwriting standards and soaring delinquencies, it appears when the least-creditworthy Americans are cut off from debt servitude, bad things happen in car sales... *FORD FEB. U.S. LIGHT-VEHICLE SALES FALL 2.0%, E […]

A CIA “psychological operations” manual prepared by a CIA contractor for the Nicaraguan Contra rebels noted the value of assassinating someone on your own side to create a “martyr” for the cause. The manual was authenticated by the U.S. government. The manual received so much publicity from Associated Press, Washington Post and other media that – during the […]

This article in the Independent Sentinel was apparently developed from an interview that top conservative radio host Mark Levin conducted with broadcaster Susan Payne. Levin is a kind of conservative neocon from what we can tell and the Independent Sentinel seems to believe that radical Islam is the biggest threat since Prussia. But nonetheless, the determin […]

There have been anti-central bank demos in Germany, anti-EU demos across Europe and now there are anti-Monsanto demos in both South America and Europe, including Poland. The South American demos and protests have been going on for a while. But this protest in Poland seems fairly unique and shows once more how people are confronting a variety of authoritarian […]

One of the social mythologies of our time is that it is in the power and ability of governments to remake society in any image or shape that those with political authority consider "good," "right" and "just" for mankind. No other idea has caused more horror and hardship in modern times. The extreme attempts at such "social […]

My wife says I'm weird and she is probably right. First, I personally love cold weather, mountains and skiing, so why am I looking south? Maybe it is because the words of Jimmy Buffet's "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" keep going through my mind. Well, I enjoy cold and snow when it is out in the mountains surrounded by nature […]

Once one understands how much of the information band British media promotions occupy, it is difficult to watch the BBC for any length of time. Watch the Beeb for a day and be educated about how to believe and what to say. The Beeb is a prime exponent of dominant social themes. Each finds space for elaboration on news programming. These themes, in our view, […]